This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, September 16, 2022. Information updated weekly or as needed. Times given as local St. Louis time which is Central Daylight Time (CDT). For definitions of terminology used in the night sky update, click the highlighted text. If relying on times… Continue reading
September 16, 2022 Tomorrow morning at 5:30 am, it will be possible to see the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter overhead. Jupiter will appear to the southwest in the constellation of Pisces. A third quarter moon and Mars will both be visible high to the south in the constellation of Taurus. The sky as it will… Continue reading
Support science for our future. Make a gift to the Science Center’s Annual Fund to help support the Science Center’s education programs. Science never stops—especially for our former YES Teens. Chris Lau, a recent graduate from the Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program, knows a thing or two about inviting the St. Louis community… Continue reading
September 15, 2022 Jupiter is the largest of the gas giant planets and is covered in swirling clouds of hydrogen, helium, methane, and ammonia. These clouds are constantly moving and changing, creating large hurricane like storms. Similar flow patterns can be found on Earth by looking at our oceans and seas. To read more about… Continue reading
Poison Ivy Barbie, ca. 2004 Not all girls want to be the heroine! When Mattel launched its first series of DC Comics Barbie dolls in 2003 with Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Batgirl, they quickly followed with a set of DC super villainesses in 2004. Barbie donned the catsuit, the harlequin outfit, and the shiny green… Continue reading
September 14, 2022 On this date in 1968, the Soviet spacecraft Zond 5 was launched and later became the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon and return to Earth. Zond 5 carried a large biological payload, including two Steppe tortoises. The two tortoises survived their flight around the Moon and were alive upon their return… Continue reading
September 13, 2022 Tonight at 10 pm, it is possible to find the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn in a line across the southeastern sky. By 11:30, Mars will have also risen above the east-northeastern horizon. The sky as it will appear tonight at 10 pm. The Moon, Jupiter and Saturn are all visible above the… Continue reading
September 12, 2022 On this date in 1959, the Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 launched. Less than 48 hours after launch, the probe intentionally crashed into the surface of the Moon. Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon, and the first human-made object to contact another celestial body. The image… Continue reading
September 11, 2022 On this date in 1985, NASA’s International Cometary Explorer (ICE) made its programmed flyby of Comet Giacobini-Zinner. ICE performed both a flyby of the comet nucleus and a pass through the comet’s plasma tail. ICE was the first spacecraft to directly investigate a comet, and after an encounter with Halley’s Comet, became… Continue reading
September 10, 2022 The Moon rises this evening at 8:03pm. Officially this month’s full moon occurred at approximately 4 am this morning; however, the Moon will still appear almost entirely illuminated when it rises tonight. At approximately 2 am tomorrow morning, the Moon will pass very close to Jupiter in the southern sky. The sky… Continue reading
